Wills

Eugene Feldman, the Camden County surrogate, was pacing the room and talking with a volubility that defied his subject: death and, more particularly, dying. "Modern technology has done tremendous things for us in keeping us alive," Feldman said. "But in some cases, it has done too good a job. People are tired of not dying. " A wave of assent, like revival amens, rippled from about 20 senior citizens who had gathered to listen to Feldman at the Brendenwood Retirement Community in Voorhees.

Volunteer firefighters in Camden County have the opportunity to have their wills drawn up by a lawyer free of charge under a new program offered through the Camden County Surrogate's Office. For the last two years, the office has run a program offering free wills to senior citizens, according to Gene Feldman, the county surrogate. Under that program, about 3,500 wills have been drawn up. Now, the will service is being offered to volunteer firefighters because they place their lives at risk for the sake of their communities without pay, Feldman said.

Gloucester County Surrogate Donald H. Wagner harshly criticized Freeholder Jay H. Sharp last night for suggesting that there may be improprieties in the program providing free wills for senior citizens. Sharp, a Republican seeking re-election, said last week that he was concerned about where the funds for the surrogate's program were kept and about the propriety of Wagner's selecting the lawyer to draw up the wills. "I am hurt and dismayed real deeply regarding some of the comments I've heard made," said Wagner, a Democrat also seeking re-election.

The daughter of a wealthy Phoenixville developer yesterday accused her younger brother of forging their parents' wills and cheating her out of her full inheritance. Anita Elizabeth Gerhold, 41, of Greenfield, Pa., testified in Chester County Court at the forgery trial of her brother Richard J. Puleo, 34, that their father, Joseph Puleo Sr., had property and other assets valued at more than $4.3 million. In a 1981 will signed by the father, Gerhold said that she, Richard Puleo and two older brothers were made co-executors and shared equally in the estate.

James F. Proud, Delaware County's register of wills and a solicitor for several area towns, was nominated by Gov. Ridge yesterday to fill a county judgeship left vacant in April. The nomination of the 51-year-old Wallingford Republican is subject to confirmation by the Senate. It comes after five months of chatter in the Delaware County Courthouse about whom the governor would nominate. Proud, often touted as professional and hard-working, was long considered the top choice.

A Phoenixville lawyer, charged with drawing up bogus wills for his parents to reduce his sister's inheritance, was acquitted of forgery and related offenses yesterday by a Chester County jury. Richard J. Puleo, 33, the youngest son of a wealthy Phoenixville developer, testified Wednesday that his father, Joseph A. Puleo Sr. and his mother, Lena Puleo, had given him power of attorney to handle their legal affairs. Richard Puleo said he believed that this authority made it legal for him to sign his parents' names to their wills.

Whoever thought that probating wills would be such an attractive job? As the primary nears in Gloucester County, it's the office of surrogate that is getting all of the attention - and is causing the most problems for both political parties. Neither party expected to have a primary contest, but when longtime political figure Donald Wagner announced early this year that he would be retiring from the Surrogate's Office, the field opened wide, prompting both parties to open their coffers and take sides.

The federal government may soon require hospitals and doctors to give patients information on living wills, documents that allow people to stipulate when they want life-support systems turned off. Critics say that the move would result in government-sanctioned mercy killings, but supporters say it would help prevent patients from being kept alive against their wishes. A provision in a deficit-cutting bill approved early Saturday by the Senate Finance Committee would require hospitals and doctors participating in the Medicare program to ask patients if they had signed a living will and to offer information about the wills to interested adults.

It began in 1975, when Joe Quinlan walked into Paul Armstrong's office and told the lawyer he wanted help getting his daughter, Karen Ann, removed from a respirator. That desire, and the New Jersey Supreme Court decision that ultimately allowed it, prompted an international debate on the right to die and spawned the practice of people writing living wills in almost every state in the nation. Yesterday, New Jersey, where the debate began, became the 48th state to legally recognize living wills, the documents that allow people to say in advance what sort of care they want and who should make health-care decisions for them if they become incapacitated.

A special portable floor designed for dance performance and offered to area dance companies at minimal cost by the soon-to-shutter Dance USA/Philadelphia service organization has been taken over by BalletX and will remain in use. The floor, which can be moved from venue to venue, has been used by area companies over the last four years, bringing dance to as many as 25,000 audience members. BalletX, based at the Wilma Theater, has used it on several occasions, including performances in the Gallery and at 30th Street Station.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Ryne Sandberg saw Aaron Nola pitch last month when the Phillies equipped a few minor-league pitchers to throw batting practice as part of a hit-and-run drill. The righthander did exactly what the team needed: throw strikes. Sandberg will be looking for more of the same Friday when Nola, the team's top pitching prospect, starts against the New York Yankees. "It's about allowing a guy like Nola to experience this and see what he can do in this environment," Sandberg said.

All season Jaylen Bond has been Temple's defensive leader. Recently, however, the 6-foot-8 junior has had trouble staying on the court because of injury and foul trouble. Bond, who is averaging 7.7 points and an American Athletic Conference-leading 7.9 rebounds a game, suffered a sprained right ankle in the first half and didn't return during the Owls' 80-75 win over Memphis in an AAC quarterfinal on March 13. He played the next day in the Owls' 75-63 loss to Southern Methodist, but he was far from 100 percent.

If the past is any indication, the fraternity scandal at Pennsylvania State University - the latest in a string of incidents across the country - will blow over without any fundamental change to Greek life in State College. Last week, the school said it would consider a review of its fraternity system after students at one, Kappa Delta Rho, allegedly posted nude photos of sleeping or unconscious women on private Facebook pages. The fraternity's national organization has suspended the chapter for one year.

As SEPTA moves further down the line in planning a rail extension to King of Prussia, there are a few things we know - and many more that we don't. Among the decisions so far: It will be a spur off the Norristown High-Speed Rail Line. The entire five-mile route will be on an elevated concrete track. It will stop at the King of Prussia Mall, end at the Valley Forge Casino and Convention Center, and include two to four stops along the way. But transit planners, township officials, and business groups are still studying some of the most crucial details, including which of five proposed routes would get the most ridership, how much each route would cost, and how each would affect noise, traffic, and other environmental conditions.

EDMONTON, Alberta - The countdown is underway to the end of another Flyers season without a Stanley Cup. The Flyers, Cup-less since 1975, have eight games left after Saturday's matchup in Edmonton, and they will miss the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. A year removed from an impressive 42-27-10 record under first-year coach Craig Berube - and a seven-game playoff loss to a New York Rangers team that reached the Stanley Cup Finals - the Flyers have regressed. They took a 29-29-15 record into Saturday and had lost eight straight road games.

Have you ever coveted your contractors' professional tools and building supplies and wished you could buy similar gear? Just such an opportunity is about to present itself. For the first time, the DelChester chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) will host an open-to-the-public garage/yard sale March 29 in Chester. The trade group's contractor members from Delaware and Chester Counties will be donating overstock items, wrong orders, slightly used equipment, extra parts, tools, appliances and housewares.

Temple used double-digit scoring efforts from three players Thursday to beat Marist, 67-54, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and move to a second-round Women's NIT matchup with Penn at 2 p.m. Sunday. Erica Covile led the way with 19 points, while also adding six boards. Tanaya Atkinson finished with 18 points and five rebounds, while sophomore Feyonda Fitzgerald had 14 points, and six rebounds. Penn 65, Hofstra 58 - With some quality shooting from three-point range, Penn held off Hofstra on Thursday to move to 21-8 on the season and set up a Round 2 contest with Temple.

WILL CUMMINGS wasn't letting what could have been his final game as a Temple Owl end in disappointment last night. The senior guard threw North Broad Street on his back in the process, putting up a herculean 30-point, seven-rebound effort in a 73-67 win over Bucknell in the opening round of the NIT. The 30 points were a season high for the Owls and just one point shy of a career best for Cummings. Josh Brown, who dropped 11 points off the bench, and fellow guard Quenton Decosey (13 points)

FOUR RACES into the Sprint Cup season and Tony Stewart's best finish is 30th. What? Are we talking about Tony "Smoke" Stewart, a three-time Cup series champion, one of the most skilled race-car drivers in the world finishing races back in the pack with also-rans? Regrettably, we are. Meanwhile, his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick is winning races (two) and extending his remarkable streak of top-two finishes to seven in a row over two seasons. (The last driver with seven consecutive top-two finishes was Richard Petty, in 1975.)